The son of a librarian, Chris M. Arnone's love of books was as inevitable as gravity. He holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Missouri - Kansas City. His cyberpunk series, The Jayu City Chronicles, is available everywhere books are sold. His work can also be found in Adelaide Literary Magazine and FEED Lit Mag. You can find him writing more books, poetry, and acting in Kansas City. You can also follow him on social media (Facebook, Goodreads, Instagram, Bluesky, TikTok, website).
Romantasy is all the rage right now and with good reason. Something about the intersection of fantasy settings and romance works so well. Personally, I think it’s because both offer a form of wish fulfillment and escapism. Together? Perfection.
But romantasy isn’t just limited to traditional prose books. Nope. Fantasy and romance have been teaming up for a long time in comic books, graphic novels, and manga, too. In fact, I find that romantasy comics have the strangest approaches to this genre mashup, bringing more humor and horror and general weirdness than you’ll usually find in prose books.
Need to know where to start reading romantasy comics? That’s what this is all about. Here are five very different romantasy comics to dip your toes into this great pool of books. Old and new, Eastern and Western, these will give you a diverse taste of romantasy comics.
The Ancient Magus’ Bride by Kore Yamazaki
Chise Hatori is an orphan and a magician’s apprentice. Things don’t go well at all for her, though, and she’s sold into slavery, purchased by an inhuman magician. But her new master isn’t all that he seems, and Chise has more to teach him about humanity than he’ll teach her about magic.
Lore Olympus by Rachel Smythe
By far the most popular of the romantasy comics on this list, Lore Olympus is a modern retelling of the Persephone myth. Originally a webcomic, the story has graduated to print and has warmed audiences with its modern take, great characters, and unflinching look at problematic relationships.
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Palace of the Omega by Fumi Tsuyuhisa
You need some fantasy yaoi in your life, right? Ilia is an omega, the last and unwanted prince born to his royal family. So, he’s sent away to make a political marriage. Instead of finding his husband-to-be, he finds a young boy with a foreboding message.
Sleepless by Sarah Vaughn and Leila del Duca
Lady “Poppy” Pyppenia has but one guard, a knight named Cyrenic who cannot and does not sleep. When an assassin appears to threaten Poppy, she and Cyrenic must work together to thwart the plot. Of course, their own hearts and loins are vying for their attention, too.
Somna: A Bedtime Story by Becky Cloonan and Tula Lotay
This Eisner winner is set during the Salem witch trials. Ingrid is married to her town’s bailiff and chief witch hunter. When a murder happens, many women are suspected and seen as witches. Ingrid has her own suspicions, and they lead her down a dark, erotic path toward a strange phantom.
What are some of your favorite romantasy comics? You can always check out the lists of some of our favorite romantasy prose books, too.
The following comes to you from the Editorial Desk.
This week, we’re highlighting a guide to reading short stories! If you’ve been curious about what short stories have to offer and want to make them part of your reading life, get to know the form and learn where you can find some good ones so you can get started right away. Read on for an excerpt and become an All Access member to unlock the full post.
May is Short Story month, so what’s on your reading list this month? Short stories are one of my favorite things to read right now. Life’s busy, and short stories are fiction that can fit into a hectic day. Instead of using the one-chapter-per-night method to work your way through a novel, what might it look like to read a short story each evening?
I love short stories precisely because they’re every bit as interesting, complex, and beautiful as longer fiction, but they’re more realistic to read when you’ve got a lot going on.
I have a confession: I used to hate short stories. Okay, okay, maybe “hate” is too strong a word. Let’s just say that I basically refused to read them. You might be wondering why I would have such a strong aversion to short stories.
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